The Church of Eleven22 - Vision Sunday 2021

Episode Date: January 3, 2021

The Church of Eleven22 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Amen and amen. How we're doing, church. Doing good. You look great. It looks thinner already. Hey, you're going to need two things. You're going to need your Bible Acts chapter two is where we're going to end up in a minute.

And then your campus pastor already told you you're going to need this little vision packet guide kind of thing because that's what we're going to do today. We're going to talk about what God, what we believe God has the store for us for 2021. And let me say welcome to 2021. Have you ever been more ready to say goodbye to a year than to 2020? What a year. There's a couple things I'm looking forward to never hearing again. I would love to never hear the words unprecedented again.

I'm ready for just precedented. Everybody ready to just go back to precedent? That'd be great. The other thing I think I heard more last year than any other thing is this. You're on mute. I heard that. You used to try to do an elders meeting via Zoom. Our elders are incredible.

And many things like prayer and Bible reading technology is not one of them. Okay. So hopefully 2020 is in our past and God, has bigger things in store for us in 2021. But I do want you to know this, that God was at work in 2020, that God was still on his throne in 2020. At no point was God ever caught off guard or surprise, that God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose.

At no point in 2020 did God wake up from a nap, look down at us and go, what in the name of me is going on down there? That did not happen. That even when we could not see it, he was working. working. And what the enemy intended for evil, God intended for good. Amen? And so before we talk about where God's leading us in 21, I do want to take just a second to celebrate some of the things God did in 2020. And if you open up your little vision thing here to light the second page, you'll see some numbers there. And I want you to know that even though when the world shut down, how many of you

know that you can't shut down a move of God? And so all we did was pivot a little bit. We moved online for a few months and we started gathering again, and that pre-COVID last year, we would reach, you know, tens of thousands of people every week, but because of what God allowed us to do online, that we were able to reach over 300,000 people a week with the gospel, that last year there were 17 million views of the sermons and services right here at the Church of 1122 in over 120 countries. Amen. You should be more excited about it than you are, but it's all right. Also last year, we planted 90 churches, 90, 90 churches were planted around the world. All right, y'all got to do better than this.

Listen to me. Do you realize 90 churches? That means when we're all dead and done, generations to come. There you go. It's getting a little better. You're not ready for the gym tomorrow. I can tell that you sponsored 1668 Compassion Kids in 2020, which put us as the number one lifetime compassion.

sponsoring church, so it's not a competition, we're just winning it. That last year, 293 people went public with their faith in believers' baptism, praise God, and 975 people put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior for the very first time. Praise God. Now, while God was at work, I don't have to tell you this, but I'm going to anyway, so was the enemy. I mean, the enemy was at work last year like, at least I've never seen in my 47 years. There is a political polarization, again, that I've never seen before. I read recently, check this out, 70% of Democrats trust the mainstream media,

and only 10% of Republicans trust the mainstream media. We are so polarized, we can't even agree on what the information is at this point. There's racial division, different ideologies for the, the solutions. Those of you that lived through the 60s tell the rest of us that it was reminiscent of that. There's social unrest, riots, cities on fire, COVID-19 hits, and even that becomes politicized. Even though the survival rate is 99.99.998, the world shut down, and yet we all have loved ones that are significantly affected by it. And the crazy thing is our response to it is different. You go to some states and it's total lockdown. You go to other states and it's like, we don't do COVID here.

It's completely different. Now, the reason I bring that up is this. I remember when the towers fell on 9-11, and we all sat in shock of what was going on, and we were all deeply affected, and we didn't even know exactly how it would affect us. But something happened in America after 9-11, at least for a few days, where we all got together, we all banned together, we were all the same team. And for the next few days, especially if you bumped into somebody that did not look like you, you were same team, bro. High five. And regardless of what you think about, W. Bush, when he stood on that rubble and he was talking and then one of the first responders says, we can't hear you. And he goes, but I can hear you. And one day they will hear us. And everybody

rallied together as a people. And yet in this crisis, what we have not done as a country, we have not rallied together. We have blamed. I mean, Some people say it's Trump's fault. Some people say it's Fauci's fault. Some people say it's the Dems. Some people say it's the CDC. Some people blame China. But that's what we do.

We are divide and pointing and blaming. I mean, you can't go to Walmart today without people screaming at each other over masks. And one guy's screaming about his freedom and some of the ladies talking about her, you know, do you even care for people? And so, in a world that is trying to tear us apart and doing a really good job at that, it is the church. unique opportunity and responsibility to bring people together in relationship. And this is not a new idea in 2020. It's actually how the church started. And so this year, the focus of 2021 for the church of 1122, listen, our vision never changes.

We are a movement for all people. So if you fall in the all people category, 1122 could be for you. So we're a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. So if you take that vision piece, you just circle the word relationship real big. It starts first and foremost with our relationship with the Lord, and then that leads us to have relationships with one another, so that is going to be our focus. And the reason is because this is how the very first church started. In Acts chapter 2, if we'll pick it up in verse 42, you get a description of the very first church. I mean, it is only days old.

and this is what the first church is described as. And by the way, life in the first century was pretty rough. There was some serious political contention that Rome has occupied Jerusalem. There was some serious racial tension between Jews and Gentiles and Samaritans. There were a lot of the same similarities in the first century as there are today. And it was in that context that the church is not only birth, but brings people. together in Jesus Christ. Here's the description of the early church.

Luke 2.42, I mean, Acts 242. And they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and prayers, and all came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all.

as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. This is the description of the early church. Now, in order to understand what Luke is talking about when he's describing the early church in Acts chapter 2 and to understand God's call, it's. in our church today because we are directly connected

to this very church. And I think we have to go all the way back to the very beginning to understand God's intention and what went wrong. Just as chapter one, two, and three, the Bible says in the beginning, God. One God in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Again, I know it's confusing, one God in three persons, that God himself was in a perfect submission, love relationship with himself. In other words, God, all by God's self, is a community, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's what C.S. Lewis calls the dance. And a lot of times people have a misunderstanding of the Trinity. They think like God is big and bad, and then there's a little baby Jesus, and there's the weird Uncle Holy Spirit making everybody kind of creeped out, okay? That is not the way the Godhead works. One God, three persons, perfect love relationship for himself. And then the Bible says, chapter 1, verse 26, let us make mankind in our image and likeness.

And so out of an overflow of God's love for God's self, he creates image bearers. Not because he needed us, not because he was lonely, not because he needed anything. He was perfectly sufficient in and of itself. You think God created you because he was bored? Do you think he needed a pet, a little baby Yoda to be disappointed by it all the time? No. It's not like God says, I have an idea. I'll create some children that will sing me songs on the weekend.

and then disobey me all week long. That is not how it works. That God created you, created me as image bearers, which means this. If God in and of himself is a perfect community, this means that you and I were created for a community. We were hardwired to give and receive love. And regardless of what you believe about God,

every single one of us act this out. That we were created for relationship. It's why God says, the only thing he says it's not good in his original creation is it's not good for man to be along. And that doesn't mean simply that Adam needed a date. It means that you and I were not created to be isolated. We were created for community. We see this.

Listen, if you went to high school, you see this. You notice how people kind of group up together. Now, if you go to like a little teeny high school and there's eight people in your class, that doesn't count. But like if you went to, you know, if you go to high school and there's a hundred or so people in your class, you see how like the athletes kind of grouped together and the artsy people kind of grouped together. and the nerds, aka your future boss, how they kind of grouped together. Even that group of kids

that is anti-establishment against the community, what do they do? Establish a community. All the little, you know, black mascara kids are all sitting together in their own community. It is in our wiring. So it goes super good for, I think, 22 verses in the Bible.

And then, and then the very first sin happens. man and woman both reject God. And they reject God by both rebellion and religion. Don't miss this. They reject God with the sin of rebellion. Forget you, God, I eat what I want, because I want to be God. And they reject God with religion because when he chases them down, they are running and hiding and make a covering by their own good works over their sin.

That's called religion. And then notice what the very next thing happens. Anytime we have a broken relationship with God, it breaks our relationships with one another. God comes to Adam and goes, bro, why are you running? He goes, I was naked and ashamed. And God says, who told you you were naked? And do you remember how he answers?

This woman you gave me. One page before, he's singing R&B songs to her. Finally, flesh in my flesh and bone of my bones, she shall be called, whoa, man. And now sin enters the world. He's like, God, either she's wrong or you're wrong. Y'all need to work this out, and I'll be over here ready for your apology. okay broken relationships and so what god does is the sin breaks our relationship with him and with each other and yet god makes a covering and gives them a promise the very next thing that happens

in the bible the very first two born humans are here and then cane rejects god and the way he rejects god is by his offering it is evidence that god is not the one thing that drives everything It's evidence that God is not before all things. Abel brings an offering of the firstborn and God receives it because he gives it by faith. Now, theologians have argued all the time. Why was Cain's offering not acceptable and Abel's? Is it because Abel brought meat and Cain brought vegetables? Well, obviously, God likes meat better than vegetables.

Who doesn't? Okay? A couple of you psychos do, but that's on you, all right? That's not what it is. It was that Cain, in the course of time, basically, got his harvest and said, God, you get in line behind me. He rejects God.

And with that rejection of God becomes this brokenness in his relationship with his brother, which leads to Kane killing his very own brother. Broken relationship with God, broken relationship with one another. Now you begin to multiply, generation after generation after generation,

and then you get the events of Noah. And in Genesis chapter 6, verse 5, one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The Bible says this, and the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart

was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his heart. Broken relationship with God led to broken relationships with one another. And then finally, by the time you get to Genesis chapter 11, the entirety of people are rejecting God, and they build what we know as the Tower of Babel.

And what they say is, let us make a name for ourselves. Forget you, God. This is about us and not you. And they begin to try to build a tower that reaches heaven, and so God divides them with different languages. And this is the pattern of all of the Old Testament. A broken relationship with God always leads to broken relationships with one another on an individual level and on the group and even.

national level. And finally, by the time you get to the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus shows up and he says things like, I have come to make all things new. He says that he has come because he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him, and not only is he going to reconcile us individually to God the Father, because he is going to be the full and final payment for our sin on the cross, but he's also going to reconcile. his family, his body, his church, us to each other.

And then he lives a perfect life. He dies a sinner's death. He pushes up on his nail, pierced feet. He says, it is finished. He is buried. And on the third day, notice he said, it is finished, not I am finished because he wasn't finished. And on the third day, the stone is rolled away,

and he is alive, and he hangs out for about six weeks. He ascends the right hand of God, the Father. and he gives us the great commission, which is basically go and make disciples of all nations, and intuitively what he is saying, because I got children, I've got family members, in all the nations that I want to gather unto myself as one people, my people. So Peter and the disciples, they hear that, but they're afraid, so they go and they hide, and then the spirit of God falls in. We're in Acts chapter 2 right now, the day of Pentecost.

And the spirit of God fills Peter, and Peter looks, and then the spirit of God fills Peter, and Peter looks, there's a crowd, Pentecost was a huge celebration. People from all over the region would come, from all different kind of dialects and all kind of different languages. It was like the RV party at Georgia, Florida weekend. That's kind of what it was like. Not exactly, but, you know, to get Jacksonville's mind around it. That's what we're talking about here. And Peter sees a crowd, he thinks, I should say words. And so he gets up and he preaches a sermon. A spirit-filled sermon, which, by the way, the thing that got Peter in trouble all the time in Jesus' earthly ministry is now that God uses to launch the very first church service.

And so some religious people make some accusations, and they're like, don't listen to these men, they're drunk. And Peter gets up and says, these men have not been drinking. It's only 9 o'clock in the morning. He didn't say if they did or did not. He just said, come on, it's too early for that. And then he preaches the most non-secret sensitive sermon of all time. God sent the author of life, Jesus, and you crucified him,

repent and be baptized. And that day, 3,000 people get saved. which by the way if you've heard people say well i don't like big church you would hated the first one it went from zero to three thousand in one service do you understand and then and then the description right on the heels of that is Acts chapter 2 verse 42 and following do you see what happened god creates his people to be in relationship with him and with each other and all throughout time the enemy has been trying to tear that apart and what god brings when he sends his son, Jesus Christ, is not only your personal relationship with Jesus, which for sure is very,

very important, but also that we would be reconciled all together as brothers and sisters, that in the early church and in today's church, the thing that we have most in common is our faith in Jesus Christ and every other descriptor of us, whether it's occupation or race or gender or ethnicity, or what country of origin, whatever that is, all of those things are. secondary to the fact that your Savior is my Savior, and therefore we are brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what the church has been called to. Acts chapter 2, verse 42.

Look at it. Again, people from all different kind of tongues are brought together via the gospel on the day of Pentecost, and here's how the church is described. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Basically, there's four ways of saying two things. they were devoted to God, the Apostles' teaching, what we've been known as the Bible. They were devoted to the gospel, and they were devoted to each other. And they were devoted to eating, praise God.

But that just means fellowship together, and they were devoted to prayer, inviting God to be a part of that. Fundamentally, that is the church. It's gospel centrality and gospel community. And if you have one without the other, you do not have what the church is supposed to be. and there's a bunch of places, a bunch of churches, and you got a whole lot of devotion to one another, you get along with everybody and everybody's doing great things, they just don't do the whole Bible thing.

Well, that's not really a church. It's just a civic organization or a social club. And you've got a bunch of churches that are devoted to the Apostles' teaching. That just is all it is. It's just show up, sit, listen, hear some teaching, and leave. That's not what it means to be in the church either. That's the seminary, okay?

You see, in fact, nowhere in the Bible can you find go to church. What you find is this idea of belonging to a family. Do you see the difference? And so this is what happened in the early church, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers. Let me ask you this. Are you devoted to those things with some other people? are you devoted not to just listening to me teach you the Bible but are you devoted to sitting with other people

and not just reading the Bible but let the Bible read you are you devoted to breaking bread with one another this is the easiest one to be devoted to by the way do you have some people in your life that have refrigerator rights to your house if not you're not doing church right there should be some people some brothers and sisters from church and they don't even knock they just walk in your life like Kramer. If you don't know who Kramer is, he was an evangelist in New York under Seinfeld Ministries. Okay, so just walk in all bold, right, and just go to your refrigerator, know where stuff is. That's what I'm talking about. Do you have people that are praying for you? Who is praying for you? And don't say your mama, because you're lying to her. You ain't

being honest with your mama. Who in your life could you call right now and say, I need you to pray about these things? This is, these are the elements of what it means. to not just go to a church, sit in a row, hear some stuff, laugh a little bit, come back three weeks later. That's not what church was or is. But devoted to the scriptures, devoted to one another, devoted to life beyond the events and activities of the church sitting at each other's table, and devoted, devoted to praying for one another. Because when that happens, look what happens, verse 43. and all came upon every soul.

All, A-W-E, say all. Oh, yeah. There's different ways you can say all. You know, so what's supposed to happen is the world is supposed to see what is happening at the church. People from every, all different backgrounds and all different ethnicities and all different socioeconomic classes, all joined together with Christ at the center, and they are to be filled with all. Now, I've been to church, and it's been more like. like, oh, that's not what it's supposed to be. And notice the next thing that happens.

And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. But notice the order. The all came at the world seeing a church unified in a world that was trying to tear them apart. That's what filled them with all, not the signs and wonders. Can you imagine if this church got this 100% right? and when people that don't even believe what we believe about God and Jesus and heaven and hell and all of that kind of stuff, but in this world of total crazy in this unprecedented time, they looked at not just the church building and who was here, but they look at the dining room tables of our church people, and it was people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation.

You see, it's not going to change based on who sits in this room. It's going to change based who's sitting on our living rooms. You understand what I'm saying. this is what it means to be in right relationship with God and one another. And if we get this right, Jacksonville and the watching world will be filled with all. And you want to see some signs and wonders? Praise God when somebody is sick and gets healed. We pray for that and believe God to do it.

But man, we got a nation that is sick right now. And what if the church is the answer? Because the church is the only one that has the answer. That's a sign, that's a wonder, that would fill all kind of people with all. Verse 44, and all who believe were together, you got to pay attention to this part. And all who were, all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. That's right, they shared everything together.

Now, but let me be clear, this was not socialism. this was generosity. There's a significant difference. Socialism is being generous with somebody else's money with the power of the government helping you. Here, I'm going to take from you

and give over here. That's not what we're called to do as believers. What we are compelled to do is we are compelled to be generous as a gospel response of how generous Christ was to us. Listen, if your only experience

with 1122 is sitting in rows listening to me, then you're not doing it right. That ultimately, do you know the front lines of care in our church. I mean, we've got an incredible care team who is trained to help you and all that for sure. But the front line of care in our church is your disciple group, not some kind of program that we come up with. I hope and pray you've got some people that you are devoted to the Apostles' teaching,

the breaking of bread, prayers, and the fellowship with some real brothers and sisters in Christ. And when the wheels start coming off in your life, you've got some people that can step in and help. Not because some program makes them, but because they live their life with an understanding that everything I have is not mine. Everything I have,

I want to be a conduit of God's mercy and grace towards others. Not a cul-de-sac for it. That's the difference between generosity and some kind of program. And then look what happens. And day by day, attending the temple together? That's kind of what we're doing now?

Is it the New Testament version? That they got together in large group? Large group gatherings are important. We get together, we sing to God, we pray prayers together, we read scriptures together, we unpack the gospel together, that's a big part of it. And breaking bread in their homes. Sound familiar? So we do big church, we do disciple groups.

This is what we do. Why? Because this is what the early church did. They received their food with glad and generous hearts. You get that? This is a part of what it means to belong to the, body of Christ, that there are some brothers and sisters and hopefully different ages than you, different backgrounds than you, different political affiliations than you, and you are sitting together,

because here's what happens, man, here's what happens, is when we get to know people because the bond of the gospel of Jesus Christ is our primary bond, then what begins to happen is our differences are always secondary. And the closer you get to people, the more complex you find that people are. And here's the thing, if you are not involved at that kind of level in those kind of relationships, then not only are you missing out because you're not there. But here's the part some of you don't realize. We're missing out because you're not there. We are.

We need you and you need to be a part of the body. And this is not begrudging submission. This is not, oh, right, quit. Oh, you bugged me to death about this every year. Finally, I'll go do a disciple group. No, man. with glad and generous hearts. That when you're getting this right,

these are relationships for the glory of God and for our joy. Verse 47, praising God and having favor with all people. Now, don't look at the next verse, but if you just read that description of the early church, and I were to say to you, okay, what was the result? What was the result of this people

that put their faith in Jesus? and then they devoted themselves to the Bible, to the Apostles' teaching, and they devoted themselves to one another, and they devoted themselves to breaking bread, to eating together, and they devoted themselves to prayer for and with one another. Well, you would think, well, I guess all the needs would be met. I guess the casseroles were probably amazing. I guess the level of relationship was super deep.

You would think it would turn inward and turn on itself, but that is not the result. In fact, the exact opposite happens. that when we as believers are unified in Christ and then unified with one another in deep gospel relationships, this is what happens. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Because I'm telling you, every single human being was created, was created for community. And when they see you living out the kind of community that they deeply desire, especially with people that don't normally, that aren't normally, matched up in our socioeconomic, tribal kind of system that we have.

When we're crossing all kind of boundaries, whichever one you want to throw out there, and we're crossing all of those kinds of things, and our commonality is Christ, then you watch and see. People say, I want to be involved in some of that. You see, the enemy has worked really hard in 2020 to separate. But the gospel unifies. The gospel unifies. And it is my understanding that the light shines brightest in the darkest days.

And if this is a time that is more polarized and there's more racial disunity and there's more people arguing and blaming, then what better time for the church to stand up and be who Christ has called her to be? Not to stand up and tell everybody what they've done wrong, I promise, I'll do plenty of that. No problem. I'll take that part of the equation. but that we would be unified in Christ. Did you know that anxiety medication in the United States went up 34% this year over last year?

There is an increase in worry, in fear, and anxiety. There is only one group of people polled in this recent Gallup poll that did not decrease in their self-evaluation of their mental health. And the only group that did not decrease were regular church goers. I'm telling you there is something supernatural when you gather together in large group to make much of his name to pray together to study the Bible together

and then you gather together with your disciple group, your small group like the people you think of when I say church the people that are actually praying for you. There's something physiological that lines up with the way God created us to live that just works. Therefore,

grab this 2021 vision booklet. We made it this size. You could put it in your pocket. You could put it somewhere if you could see it. And if you're new here, this is your first time, then this is a great week to be here because this is what we believe we are about over this next year. So if you think, well, I'm not into that,

you probably won't like it here very much, okay? But if there's something stirring in you going, yeah, could it be that way? Then maybe God brought you here for just such a reason. And if you open up to that first page, there is our mission statement, because the vision does not change. We believe that God called us as a church

to be a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus. And so this year, we just want you to highlight, draw a circle around, bite your finger, and bleed on the word relationship, whatever it takes to remember that. First and foremost, our relationship with the Lord, and then as a result of that,

our relationships with one another. And so maybe, you know, maybe you've just kind of been doing church, but you haven't been really connected. This is your year. Now, in light of that, there's going to be a couple of things that I'm going to do. And over this next year, myself and the teaching team, we're going to teach two books of the Bible. It's going to take us all year, basically.

Two books of the Bible. The first one you've heard about, we're going to teach on the Song of Solomon, right? It's kind of like a mixtape in the Bible. It's like a playlist, all right? And so it's about love, sex, dating. And again, if you're like, well, I'm not married. Okay, we're going to do one week on what the Bible says about being single. We're talking about what it means to be a godly man, what it means to be a godly woman, how to date, what vows are, what marriage is all about.

How about this one? There's one week on the honeymoon, and there's two weeks on fighting. Don't you tell me God doesn't know what he's talking about in his word, people. We're going to talk about how to grow old together. We're going to talk about how to raise the daughter. We're just going to go verse by verse through the Song of Solomon. Don't get ahead of me, okay? Don't get ahead of me.

You need me to help you with this. Because the moment you start reading this to your wife, baby, your belly's like a heap of wheat. You're going to be in trouble. I'm here to help, okay? That's going to be 11 weeks. My dear friend, Pastor Ryan Kwan, is going to come in and teach on what the Bible teaches about singleness in regards to the church. And then the other 10 weeks, I will cover. When we get finished for that, it'll be time for Easter.

We'll do Palm Sunday and Easter. And then we're going to do almost for the rest of the year. We're going to study the gospel according to John for like 30 weeks. Because at least according to John, John was the closest relationship, humanly speaking, that Jesus had on this planet. And so that's what we are going to study in light of relationships. Now, if you'll keep turning in your booklet there, you'll see some things that we've already celebrated.

That's good. You come over one more and you'll see a discipleship journey. Join a disciple group to teach more about that. Because, again, you're never done on your discipleship journey. and we are primarily not an events-based organization. We are a disciple-making organization to the glory of God. That's what we do. Which, by the way, one of the things I'm so proud of you as a church is we didn't skip a beat

when COVID shut a bunch of places down. I heard some churches, really good churches that I listen to the preachers and stuff, and I heard them say if we can't have events, then we can't pay these staff because these staff run events. And I looked at what God is doing here, and I thought, man, we're hiring people. because we're not an events-based organization. We're a discipleship organization, and all of our events are a means to a disciple-making end.

And so the disciple-making never, ever stopped. So anyway, that's important. So now I want you to see, objective one. We've got three objectives this year, and what it means to be in these relationships. We're going to love God by loving our one more. We're going to love God by loving our one more. And if you're new here,

then every single one of us have identified one more person and that we are praying that God brings into his family. And then we are praying for opportunities that God might use us in the life of this person. And a part of the way that we are trying to reach R1 more is that we are believing over a 10-year period of time. We're in your four of this. That God would use 1122 to plant 1,000 churches around the world,

to send 100 long-time missionaries around the world, that we would plant at least 10 campuses in the greater Jacksonville area. And all of that would be to reach one more for the one name under heaven whereby we must be said. And so a part of the way we're going to do that is we're going to launch some more campuses. And on Palm Sunday, which is the weekend, the Sunday before Easter, on Palm Sunday we're going to launch our next campus. And it is going to be in St. John's County. Woo-hoo! All you St. John's folk.

Okay? Now, you heard me say a bunch of times, man, you St. John's people are proud of your dirt, right? Well, guess what? Some St. John's persons heard me say that about, and then gave us a good deal on some dirt. And so our church, we together purchased 55 acres in St. John's County across the driveway from Creekside High School. And so we're going to be beginning construction on that pretty soon. But we don't have time to wait on all of that. So we are going to launch mobile.

That means a bunch of you are going to be coming to church in your active wear. Because you got to set up chairs and set up lights and set up kids spaces and all of that. And so if you would like to be a part of, and it's going to launch in Creekside High School, which is pretty cool. And if you want to be a part of this, and anyway, if you want to attend, if you want more information, if you just want to be updated on how you could pray, if you want to attend one of the, like, vision nights and sneak peaks, then please text the letters, STJ to 44, 1122. And then we will, there's somebody that will reply to you and give you, information about all those things. So start praying. Palm Sunday, this year we launch our next

campus in St. John's County. Also this year, we're going to launch another campus in North Jacksonville, kind of up by the airport. There's an old food lying up there. We own it. We're under construction on it. Now, here's why, here's where I need prayer on this one, is that with COVID, all of the, like, paperwork processing legal stuff has backed way up. And so we are waiting on our city officials to give us the thumbs up. So somehow we need you to pray that our, you know, whatever number we are, just miraculously, like a card trick, goes to number one so we can get this thing going, all right? So those of you that live in St. John, I mean, St. John's were coming to you and then

North of Jacksonville coming to you. Also this year, we're going to plant 75 churches around the world. Help them, welcome. 75 churches. In addition to that, as you know, we're a movement for all people, and all means all. And years ago, we moved in to Baker Correctional, the prison. And we've, you know, there's a couple hundred guys that attend regularly there. We baptized 67 guys there two years ago. God's doing an amazing work at Baker. And it's going so well that we went to another facility called Union. Those guys aren't getting out. That's a life sentence is what most of them have. And now, again, we believe all means all. And so we think God is calling us to move into a women's prison.

And so this year, we're going to take 1122 into a women's prison. So all you women that have been wanting to volunteer in our prison ministry, now you have an opportunity. And then in addition to that, by loving God, by loving one more, we're going to continue our efforts with 1122 online. Over 17 million people watched the sermons and services last year throughout the year. And so we just believe that geography does not hinder us from discipling you. Wherever you live, if the internet court is stretched out to where you live, and you were ready to, your hand and say, I want to know more about Jesus than we are here to help make that happen. I need us to be praying about this.

So we're going to do something strange at church here. We're going to spend a minute and we're going to pray right now. That doesn't mean it's over. Don't get up and leave when it's over. Even if you've got to go to the bathroom, you better suck it up because everybody's going to think you're dipping out, all right? So, and don't worry about it, Baptist. It'll be okay.

All right? I want you to pray out loud with somebody next to you. And if you think, well, I don't know him. Well, hopefully you set strategic. and it's going to work out for you, maybe go to lunch or something, okay? So, learn more about that next week. So I'm gonna give you one minute.

If you don't do it quiet time very often, it's gonna seem like a long time. But I want you to pray out loud for this objective, for objective number one, for our campuses, for our church plants, for our prison ministry, and for our online ministry. And then I will close us up in about a minute. Ready, pray, go.

Our good and gracious Heavenly Father God, we thank you that we have been called in the community because you created us in your image, Lord. I thank you that the moment we are rescued, we become a part of the rescue team. So, God, I pray for the church plants around the world. God, I pray for the women in prison that will meet you because the gospel will be proclaimed.

God, I pray for the families in St. John's County, the men and women in St. John's County that will come to know you. God, I pray for the folks in North Jacksonville, Lord, that they will find true community there. And God, I pray for people all over the world watching online that they would find new life in Jesus Christ. And, Lord, we pray all of these and days. to your glory alone.

We prayed in Jesus' name. Amen. Objective two, flip the page. We're going to love God by loving one another. These relationships that we have been talking about are here and available for you. You've just got to take the next step. If you're a believer in Jesus, you are a follower.

In fact, that word is used more to describe what a disciple is in the New Testament than the word believer. And so to follow, that means you take steps, and we continuously take next steps. And if you're not connected, if you don't belong, then I would invite you to either take a next step and join a disciple group. And listen, and if some of you, you've been like,

well, I went to a disciple group, it didn't work for me. You went to a restaurant that didn't work for you either. You didn't give them on eating, okay? Try another one. Or take a next step and join the serve staff, right? There are people that rock babies and that greet you in the parking lot and fill up the seat backs.

They do all these kind of things, and those teens are a great way for you to get connected. Also a great way to get to know some people to get connected in relationship is short-term missions. It's going to be a little bit different next year. But I dare you to go. And so those have been standard since the day we opened. And then God has blessed us like crazy. I wish I had time to go into all the details of how God made this happen on our behalf.

But last fall, we at the Church of 1122, we purchased a retreat center. It's about an hour from our San Pablo location in South Georgia. It's right on the intercoastal waterway. it is beautiful and I want to invite you to go to the retreat center because I think the problem with you the problem with adults is you quit going to camp and your life is so busy and your life is so loud and you come to church for like an hour and a half and it starts to get on you but if you can get in your car and train it up real loud then you're like oh I shake it off but if I could get you out of here and I could get you out in the woods and sit and look at the intercoastal sit under a big old oak tree with some

Spanish moss with a Bible and a mosquito killing you. It's unbelievable what Jesus can do in your life. And so there will be 21 different events that you could go to. Things like marriage retreats and singles retreats and men's retreats and women's retreats and it's just that. Man, we're going to a camp for adults. Daddy daughter retreats, all kind of different stuff with all kind of different activities. But ultimately it's so that we can deepen our relationship with God first and foremost and with one another. I'll hope is to take somewhere between 2,021, 1,1212 tours to the retreat center. Now, we've already hosted one retreat, and we thought in order to kick this thing off, you guys know that God laid it on our heart during the one initiative to roll out the red

carpet to families with kids with special needs. So the very first thing we hosted there is we invited parents and caretakers of kids with special needs to just come and relax in the Lord for a weekend. And this is what it looked like. year is phenomenal and there's so many resources for families with children and children with exceptionalities and we feel at home. Knowing that my kids are finally seen and that they mean something to people and so 1122 means a lot to us. The men that I've met, you know, winked arms with us in this struggle that is special me is like no other and I couldn't do it without them.

It blesses me the most because I see that my kids are fully included. And that's been amazing to me. So you are invited, okay? Amen. You are invited. So as we get closer to these events, they'll be online. We'll announce them all that sort of stuff. And so we're going to pray for another minute.

And I want you to pray. I want you to pray for the relationships and disciple groups. I want some of you to ask God, God, are you leading me to lead a disciple group? You should pray that. The more nervous you feel about that, the more likely is the Spirit of God working. in your life, okay? I want you to pray for our serve staff, for our mission trips, and then also pray for the lives that will be changed at the retreat center. There will be marriages on the verge of divorce, and they will sign up and go there, and God will breathe new life into these things.

So let's pray for life change in disciple groups, in serve staff, in mission trips, and also in the retreat center. You've got one minute. Pray out loud with somebody. Go. Dear Father in heaven, Lord, I pray for our disciple groups. I pray for the men and women that you would call even in this very moment to step up and lead a new one. God, I thank you, and I praise you for the, for the Jesus-like humble hearts of our serve staff that show up here every weekend and throughout the week so that we can have a place to meet. God, I pray for the mission trip, so we know they don't look like we are used to, but Lord, we know that you are at work and all of them. And God, we pray for the lives that will be changed at the retreat center. God, we pray for the marriages that

we be saved. We pray for the relationships that will be reconciled. God, we pray for the men and women that will put their faith in you. God, I thank you for my salvation. That I didn't get saved at church or some evangelistic crusade. I got saved at camp. And God, I thank you and I praise you for the people that you will draw under yourself through this retreat center. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Foot the page. You're almost done. Objective three. 11-22 life. Every family has good, healthy If you don't, that's a different sermon, but you need some good, healthy family rhythms. And around here, we have four big bucket events that we are looking forward to and getting ready for all the time. And one of the things in 20, however many years of ministry, I've been amazed at, is how surprised church people are by things like Easter and Christmas.

They happen every year virtually. And so what I wanted to do is just give you the dates so that you could begin to get ready for this. And don't be dumb and schedule a vacation over one of our big church events. I'm not saying your vacation is dumb. I'm saying you're dumb if you schedule an event. I'm giving it to you now. And if you're like, I got a family reunion. Do it on another weekend, okay?

This is going to be better. All right. April 4th is Easter. You should start working right now on your one more. to get to Easter. Now, of course they could come before that, but you should start working towards that. Beach Baptism, May 16th.

How many of you have been to Beach Baptism? It is epic. It's the coolest church thing you've ever been to in your life. That hundreds of people will declare Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and the rest of us like tailgate for it. It is epic. All right?

If you're Baptist, this is our version of dinner on the grounds. So, you know, bring some food and a tent and the waves get big. Bring a surfboard. All right. It's going to be awesome. September 15th to 19th. is saturated, where we just are saturated in the Word and saturated in the presence of God.

I think David Platt is kicking us off this year, so you don't want to miss that. And so all of those days, we join together, and then Christmas Eve, I know you know Christmas Eve is December 24th, but we have a Christmas Eve service this year on Christmas Eve. And this past year, 50 people surrendered their life to the Lordship of Christ at our Christmas Eve service. Amen? Now, the reason we give you these. is because these are all great events for you to bring your one more. If you're new to us, here's what we've committed to do at 1122.

Every single one of us are praying like crazy that God might use us to just bring one more person into his family. And it's typically somebody that we love like crazy and we want to share the good news that God loves them like crazy. And so what I want to challenge you to do is write their name now. and so that you would be committed to pray for that person every single day. And we're going to let you know when one more weekends are, when we'll be given a clear gospel invitation. And we would love for you to do whatever it takes within reason to invite that one more here. Now listen, this is not to post publicly.

Don't put it on Instagram, but like, yep, my friend, Sarah, she's going to hell. Can we all pray for her? Hashtag Sarah, don't go to hell. That's not what we're doing, okay? This is just people that we love because God has loved us and placed them in our life. And so, let me tell you how big deal this is.

In John chapter 17, in John chapter 17, Jesus praised this prayer, and he tells us in the beginning of the prayer, we'll study it this year, that he praised this prayer out loud so that John can hear it and jot it down. And he prays for his disciples, and he prays for his other followers in the world.

And then he prays this in John 1720. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Guess who that is? That's us. Did you know there is a recorded prayer of Jesus in the Bible, and he is praying for you, if you're a Jesus follower? And here's what he prays for us, those of us who will believe through the word of the apostles, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us. us that Jesus's prayer for our relationships at 1122 is that we would be as as as one as connected in like a

holy communion as God the father is with God the son that's the level of relationship that God has in store for us and then what will happen well we'll feel ui-goo and have a lot of hugs at church that's not that's not the reason there's a so that that that that They also may be one in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. By hope and prayer for us as a church is that we would be a movement for all people to discover a deep in a relationship with Jesus Christ. And that through our relationships, God would use our relationships, our connection and communion to be a picture to this world of what God offers them.

And everything that we're doing in this little relationship book here, everything we're doing through the teaching series to the events to the retreat center and all of that is to try to provide an arena for you to experience that first and foremost with him and then also with one another and so in just a second i'm gonna pray and as i pray i want you to do a couple of things we're gonna respond like we always do i want you to begin to pray for your one more and write their name down if they're sitting next to you just write somebody else's name down or whatever you think that's weird okay and i I want you to start praying like crazy that God might use you. Maybe you think I can't change the world, but you could change that person's world. Because I was led to Christ, not by a preacher, not by an evangelist, not by a minister, but by a coach. So who knows, who knows who God might use you to reach for the good news of the gospel. And then we're going to respond like we always respond. We're going to bring, we're going to bring our tithes and offerings.

The last page here is just our, this is how last year looked, real good. and the reason that we bring our ties and offerings is fundamentally a response of worship to God because he loved first and he went first. And so we bring our first and best of him. But as a secondary thing that happens, it's unbelievable what God does with our little fish and loaves, our little ties and offerings. When we put them in his hand, he always does exceedingly more than any of us ever hoped or imagine. So we're going to respond that way like we always do. And we're going to respond by singing a song that our worship team wrote.

And you're going to love the words because, because I don't know what 2020 was for you, but as a church these past eight years have gone real good. And yet we believe that the future is even brighter than what we're coming out of. That greater things are still to come. And then we're going to pray. And I don't often ask you to do this, but I'm asking you, would you pray for me? Would you pray for my family? Would you pray for the leaders, the elders, the pastors of this church?

Would you pray for your church? Would you pray that these events, that these opportunities would bring glory to God? I mean, one of the things I don't know if I mentioned is that this year, in light of relationships, the elders want me to take a sabbatical. And a lot of times people hear that, and they think it's like pastoral timeout. Everything is great. We're just trying to, I've never had one in my life. And so they think it's a good idea to reconnect with the Lord, rest with my family, do some of that kind of stuff.

And so pray, pray for our church. Pray that God would continue to be glorified through this movement of 11, and pray that you would know what your role in his movement is for his glory and for your joy in this year of relationships. So stand with me. I'm going to pray. You're going to bring, you're going to sing, and you're going to pray. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we thank you that ultimately in the Lamb's Book

of Life you wrote down our name as one of your one mores. and that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, who humbled himself, became obedient even to death on a cross, that we might be reconciled unto you. And God, you did not save us by a church, but you saved us into a church family. And God, I pray for this church family. Lord, I pray that this year you would use your church, this church, to be a shining beacon of hope to a really confused world. and even if they can't get their minds, the outside worlds around the theology that we ascribe to, God, may their hearts yearn for the relationships that we have.

God, this only happens through the blood of your son, Jesus Christ. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. So church, as we respond, let us bring our tides and offerings. Most of us do that online. Let us pray. Pray for you. Pray for your role. Pray for me.

Pray for this church. And let us sing. Let us join our voices together to declare greater things are yet to come.